“ Check-Out Time ”, the short story by Sydneysider, Rowena Helston, won the prize for Best Investigation in Sisters in Crime’s 2009 Scarlet Stiletto Awards. Rowena trained as a criminal lawyer and currently works in legal research. After winning the Scarlet Stiletto award, she studied at the Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin and completed a novel, Bellwater Proof . She publishes her creative writing and artistic work on her website at www.rowenahelston.com . Send your feedback to admin@sistersi...
Apr 04, 2025•37 min•Season 6Ep. 76
Moraig Kisler took out the prize for Best New Talent in Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards in 2013 for her short story, “Milko”. Moraig is a retired law clerk and a convenor of Sisters in Crime Australia. While studying an Associate Degree in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT, Moraig began writing a crime novel The Saltworks . She dabbles in short stories and micro fiction but is always drawn to the dark side. Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au Credits Concept desig...
Mar 28, 2025•27 min•Season 6Ep. 75
Vicky Daddo won 2nd prize in Sisters in Crime’s Scarlet Stiletto Awards in 2013 for her short story, “Mary's Colours”. Vicky writes long and short fiction. She enters the Scarlet Stiletto awards every year and her 2013 second place, was the second time she had been among the prize-winners, cementing her love of writing crime. She is currently writing a cosy mystery novel. Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au More info here. https://vickydaddo.com/ Credits Concept designer, co-produc...
Mar 21, 2025•23 min•Season 6Ep. 74
Aoife [Ee-fa] Clifford won the Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2007 and then continued to take out numerous category awards, including the runner-up prize for The Body in the Library Award in 2013. To hear Susanna Lobez’s superlative narration go to Apple https://buff.ly/3oCL93T ; Spotify: https://buff.ly/3ozTzZO ; Google https://buff.ly/3BY8qk1 ; or Amazon https://buff.ly/3oCLa7X . Aoife is now the author of the best-selling literary crime novels , Second Sight , highly commended in the Davitt Awards...
Mar 14, 2025•38 min•Season 6Ep. 73
The Body in the Library’ won the eponymous prize in the 2013 Scarlet Stiletto awards for WA author Dawn Farnham. She has published numerous short stories and historical novels and recently received a starred review by US Publisher’s Weekly for her 2023 historical detective novel, Tokyo Time . Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Production Manager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia...
Mar 07, 2025•33 min•Season 6Ep. 72
Emilie Collyer’s story, “Service with a Smile", took out the Scarlet Stiletto Cross Genre award in 2013. Emilie writes poetry, plays and prose. She has publicised and produced widely in Australia and internationally. He poetry collection, “Do you have anything less domestic?” ( Vagabond Press 2022) won the inaugural Five Islands Press Prize for a first book. Clan Destine Press published her collection, “A Clean Job and Other Stories”, in 2014. More info here: www.emiliecollyer.com Credits Concep...
Feb 28, 2025•41 min•Season 6Ep. 71
Nikki Lee Taylor won the 31st Scarlet Stiletto Award for “Lilly Pilly, Don't Be Silly.” She is a former journalist, whose work around PTSD was recognised by the Journalism Media & Storytelling Awards panel. She is currently on a hiatus from work to pursue her goal of becoming a full-time author. Her novels include two set in Philadelphia, The Secrets We Keep and The Truth We Tell. She describes her latest, The Alibi set in Newcastle, as “a murderous love letter to my home town.” When Nikki i...
Dec 14, 2024•25 min•Season 5Ep. 70
Candice Graham won the Best Environmental Story in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards with “Fallen Angel”. Back then, she was studying her Masters in Clinical Neuropsychology. The following year she took out First Prize, Since then, Candice has spent many rewarding years working as a psychologist, primarily with children and young adults. Sadly, Candice has stepped back from her work as a psychologist due to severe pain from endometriosis. She believes the time feels right, however, to start writi...
Dec 13, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 69
Robyn McWilliam had been writing crime short stories for years, placing in Queen of Crime Awards and being published in anthologies. Winning a Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2012 for “Nursing a Suspicion” for Best Investigative Story was the pinnacle of her success in stories. She went on to publish a crime novel, Malevolent Desire, on Amazon in 2015. Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Producti...
Nov 29, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 68
Claire McKenna won 3rd prize in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards in “The Autumn Dog Cannot Live to Spring”. Hailing from the remote outer suburban wilderness of Melbourne, Claire is a short story writer, novelist, adventurer and urban explorer up to no good. She is currently writing a follow-up fantasy series that aims to be more confusing and confronting than her last. Send your feedback to admin@sistersincrime.org.au More info here: https://www.clairemckenna.net/ Credits Concept designer, co-p...
Nov 22, 2024•37 min•Season 5Ep. 67
Best Investigative story, 2013 Sandi Wallace dreamed of being a crime writer from around the age of six. Her first big win for a crime story was for “Silk Versus Sierra” in 2013, and on the Awards night, she landed a publisher for her debut crime novel… the beginning of her dream come true. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Production Manager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia...
Nov 15, 2024•42 min•Season 5Ep. 66
In a world where the neutralisation of emotions is compulsory, an enforcement officer risks everything when she starts to succumb to her feelings. 2nd Prize Scarlet Stiletto Award and Cross Genre Award Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Production Manager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia
Nov 08, 2024•35 min•Season 5Ep. 65
“Brought to Book” won Kath Harper the Body in the Library First Prize in 2012. Kath grew up in a family of word nerds, and worked as a nanny/housemaid, fruit packer, customer service officer and school teacher before finding her niche as an editor, indexer and proofreader. She has won or been highly commended in a number of story-writing competitions, including the Body in the Library and Malice Domestic categories of the Scarlet Stiletto Awards. The isolation of freelance work drew her to commu...
Nov 01, 2024•36 min•Season 5Ep. 64
Much Ado About Nunning” by Western Australian author, Helen Iles, won the prize for Best Film Idea in 2012. Helen writes crime fiction, adult fiction, young adult fiction, textbooks, poetry, and children’s picture books. Helen has been published locally and internationally. Her novel, Dark Secrets was long-listed for the Davitt Award 2019. She has won the Bronze Quill three times, the National Horror Writers Award, the Best Film Script Idea in the Scarlet Stiletto competition, and numerous other...
Oct 25, 2024•33 min•Season 5Ep. 63
“Fish for Freedom” won the Malice Domestic prize in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards for WA author Sarah Evans. She has since had many short stories and novels published both in Australia and overseas. Last year her crime series was optioned for TV. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Production Manager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia...
Oct 18, 2024•27 min•Season 5Ep. 62
Aoife Clifford’s story, “Quit”, took out the award for funniest short story in the 2012 Scarlet Stiletto Awards and was runner up in the Body in the Library Award. When Aoife won the Scarlet Stiletto in 2007, she was at home with two small children, suffering terrible morning sickness with what was to be her third. Now her eldest has left home and her fourth crime novel came out in 2024. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and n...
Oct 11, 2024•38 min•Season 5Ep. 61
At the time of winning the Scarlet Stiletto Young Writers’ Award in 2007, Jane Blechynden was a ten-year-old schoolgirl whose biggest concern was whether she should experiment with a side fringe. The Sisters in Crime award inspired Jane to continue writing, and she went on to win the Tim Winton award in 2009. Although Jane is still an avid reader, her literary career is now focused on writing exemplary patient notes in her role as a doctor. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Su...
Oct 04, 2024•14 min•Season 5Ep. 60
Lesley Truffle won 3rd prize in the Scarlet Stiletto Awards in 2010 for “A Man of Fashion”. She was then an aspiring novelist, then walking the beach at 3am plotting a story about women behaving badly. Two of her novels, Hotel du Barry and The Scandalous Life of Sasha Torte , have been published by Harper Collins in Australia and also in Spain, Italy and Germany. Lesley was born in London but came out to Australia when young. She has worked as a teacher, photographer, hotel maid, fringe actor an...
Sep 27, 2024•39 min•Season 5Ep. 59
“Still Life” won Dianne Gray the second prize in the 2000 Scarlet Stiletto Awards. She has taken out several category awards. She has since published four novels and a book of award-winning short stories. She has won numerous national and international writing awards and loves nothing better than a good old-fashioned murder mystery. She lives in peaceful bliss on a sugar cane farm in regional Queensland where she tests out new stories on baby goats, kookaburras, old dogs, and chickens. When she'...
Sep 20, 2024•20 min•Season 5Ep. 58
“Shifty Business” by the late Liz Cameron took out 3rd Prize in the 2002 Scarlet Stiletto Awards and was selected for inclusion in Scarlet Stiletto: The First Cut, a selection of stories from the first thirteen years of the competition, published in 2007 by Mira and launched by Sigrid Thornton. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute Production Manager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia...
Sep 13, 2024•29 min•Season 5Ep. 57
Bronwyn Blake was a new writer when “Dead Water” won an award for Best Lesbian Protagonist in the 1995 Scarlet Stiletto Awards . . . an exciting boost for an unconfident beginner. She has since had 13 books published in hard copy and as e-books, including Nick Riley’s Ninth Life for Lothian’s Crime Waves Series, which won the Sister’s Davitt Award for Junior Crime, 2002. A number of her books have been chosen by CBCA as Notable Books, and are used as texts in schools Australia wide. She writes f...
Sep 06, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 56
“After Azaria” was Ann’s first ever crime story. Receiving a Scarlet Stiletto, Best Procedural award for it was a fantastic motivator for writing more short crime and for Dangerous Devotions , a novel, published by Clan Destine Press in 2023. Ann has recently founded Rocking Boat Books – which runs creative writing workshops for, and publishes children’s books authored by, people with neurodiversity and other literacy and social challenges. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Su...
Aug 30, 2024•39 min•Season 4Ep. 55
Her story in verse - Froth and Trouble or Sun Hill Blues -was entered in the Scarlet Stiletto competition back in the days when everyone watched the same TV shows because streaming services and ‘catch-up ‘ did not yet exist. When the plots of a popular prime time series called The Bill began to focus on the private lives of the characters instead of crime many fans were annoyed and Margaret's story is a comment on this. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-produc...
Aug 23, 2024•11 min•Season 4Ep. 54
Louise Connor's story, “Divine Intervention”, won third prize in the 2nd Scarlet Stiletto Awards in 1995. A founding member of Sisters in Crime, Louise has twice won 3rd prize in the Scarlet Stiletto awards. Her working life was mostly spent as a ratbag, rabble-rouser in the union movement, working mostly for the MEAA, which represents workers in the media, film and television, theatre workers and events staff. Now she's retired, she really has no excuse for not writing more crime fiction (apart...
Aug 16, 2024•35 min•Season 4Ep. 53
Kylie had always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t until winning the Dorothy Porter Award for her story in verse, “Poppies”, that she realised it was something she could actually pursue. Since then, along with working full time and raising five children, Kylie has had success with several short stories, and had two books published. Kylie is currently working on a new novel and a new true crime book. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute P...
Aug 09, 2024•15 min•Season 4Ep. 52
Inga Simpson entered the Scarlet Stiletto while living in Brisbane during her second year of studying creative writing. Two prizes for one story and the publication of “Operation Bluewater” in Scarlet Stiletto Uncut , gave her the (somewhat misguided) belief that she could shift careers, from government researcher to writer. It was nearly a decade before she made another cent from writing, but Inga has gone on to publish six novels and a nature-memoir, all of which have been short or long-listed...
Aug 02, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 51
Kerry James was a lapsed professional and full-time carer for a loved one in decline when she wrote “Bucket Time”. She was considering people’s control over their inevitable death and imagined options that were kind and quick; she was strictly a non-mess murderer. “Bucket Time’s” win awarded her a mentorship with past Stiletto winner Inga Simpson! Those lessons were invaluable. The win thus gave Kerry zest to keep on and improved skills to do so: a real turning point. She thanks her Sisters in C...
Jul 26, 2024•22 min•Season 4Ep. 50
Linda was inspired to weave her wildlife rescue activities into a crime story and showcase the amazing, and mostly unsung, work of the volunteer networks. The Scarlet Stiletto award boosted her confidence in telling stories and she was chuffed to be rubbing shoulders with so many talented women writers. Since then, she has won an award in the Waterline Writing Competition and is always looking out for a spark to kick off more stories. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna ...
Jul 19, 2024•20 min•Season 4Ep. 49
Liz Filleul won the Scarlet Stiletto Award in 2004, and naturally wanted to win a second shoe. In 2007, she almost did so with “The Write Place”, which finished second. Two more second-placed stories followed in 2011 and 2016. That second shoe remains elusive, but Liz has had dozens of short crime stories published, including in UK magazine The People’s Friend , and in US magazine, Woman’s World . In 2023, she was shortlisted for a Derringer Award, given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society in t...
Jul 12, 2024•37 min•Season 4Ep. 48
Evelyn Tsitas is writer, artist, and curator. Her published and performed works range across fiction, nonfiction, stage, and journalism. Evelyn’s short story “Xenos” which won the Scarlet Stiletto Innovation prize in 2007 and became the basis for Evelyn’s PhD research into speculative fiction and hybridity. Credits Concept designer, co-producer, and narrator: Susanna Lobez Co-producer: Carmel Shute ProductionManager: Tim Coy Graphic Designer: Caz Brown Copyright Sisters in Crime Australia...
Jul 05, 2024•38 min•Season 4Ep. 47
